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Novel Jatropha Oil Based Emulsion Drilling Mud Out performs Conventional
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 Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and
Environmental Effects

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Novel Jatropha Oil Based Emulsion Drilling Mud

Out performs Conventional Drilling Mud : A
comparative study

Himanshu Kesarwani , Amit Saxena & Shivanjali Sharma

To cite this article: Himanshu Kesarwani , Amit Saxena & Shivanjali Sharma (2020): Novel
Jatropha Oil Based Emulsion Drilling Mud Out performs Conventional Drilling Mud : A comparative
study, Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, DOI:
10.1080/15567036.2020.1827095

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ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2020.1827095

Novel Jatropha Oil Based Emulsion Drilling Mud Out performs

Conventional Drilling Mud : A comparative study
Himanshu Kesarwani, Amit Saxena, and Shivanjali Sharma
Department of Petroleum Engineering and Geological Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais,
Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Drilling muds capable of drilling shale sensitive formations with negligible Received 13 July 2020
environmental effects are in great demand. The present work studies a 40% Revised 14 September 2020
water in Jatropha oil invert emulsion illustrating a comparative study of the Accepted 17 September 2020
Jatropha oil invert emulsion, and conventional diesel oil-based mud (OBM). KEYWORDS
Jatropha oil is environmentally, chemically, and economically a better substi­ Oil-based mud; Jatropha oil;
tute of Diesel. The GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) confirms emulsion stability; rheology;
the composition of Jatropha oil and diesel oil are almost similar having a similar shale
carbon number range. The effect of temperature, concentration of oil, and
various additives on the rheology of Jatropha oil invert emulsion mud was
investigated. The reduction in viscosity of Jatropha oil inverts emulsion mud
after hot rolling at 16 h and 105°C was around 25% as compared to 56% with
Diesel oil invert emulsion mud. The Jatropha oil invert emulsion mud was
thermally more stable than Diesel oil invert emulsion mud. A drastic reduction
in the fluid loss from 13 to 3.4 mL was observed while LPLT (low temperature
low pressure) filter press test for Jatropha oil invert emulsion mud along with
the mud cake thickness of only 0.793 mm (1/32 inch). The shale recovery test
confirms the usage of Jatropha oil mud in dispersive shales.

Introduction
The borehole instability has been a major concern while drilling the shale formations. The economic
concerns along with the borehole instability need an immediate address while drilling shale formations
(Jain and Mahto 2017). The cost of drilling the shale formations has seen a surge of over three times as
compared to the conventional drilling mud. The problems of shale swelling in the borehole are
predominantly because of rock fluid interactions (Kang et al. 2016). The mud filtrate from the water-
based mud comes in contact with the shales present in the system. This shale and filtrate interaction
cause the shales to swell as water moves into the interstitial space present between the shale layers. The
water repels the cations present on the surface of the shale, causing it to swell (Zhong et al. 2013). The
swelling of shale leads to the blockage of the pore throats leading to the damaged wellbore. It can be
mitigated by implementing emulsion-based muds. The emulsion-based mud is prepared by adding oil
as a dispersed phase into the continuous water phase. However, the oil-based mud is further changed
to make oil as a continuous phase known as invert emulsion mud. The invert emulsion mud needs
additives to keep the oil/water dispersion for a desirable period. Invert emulsion mud has proven
advantages over the conventional water-based mud. The major advantage is their capability of
mitigating the problems of clay swelling in water-sensitive formation.
Water-based drilling fluids are increasingly being used for oil and gas exploration. They are more
environmentally acceptable than oil-based or synthetic-based fluids. Unfortunately, their use

CONTACT Amit Saxena ssharma@rgipt.ac.in; asaxena@rgipt.ac.in Department of Petroleum Engineering and Geological
Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais, Amethi, Uttar Pradesh 229304, India
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 H. KESARWANI ET AL.

facilitates clay hydration and swelling. Clay swelling, which occurs in exposed sedimentary rock
formations, can have an adverse impact on drilling operations and may lead to significantly increased
oil well construction costs. Minimizing clay swelling is therefore an important area attracting an
enormous amount of interest from both academia and industry. The mechanism responsible for the
swelling of clay minerals must be understood to add acceptable clay swelling inhibitors which must not
only significantly reduce clay hydration but must also meet increasingly stringent environmental
guidelines while remaining cost-effective (Tiwari et al. 2020).
The invert emulsion mud maintains the integrity of the formation by inhibiting clay swelling. It also
provides lubricity to the system, reducing the torque and drag in highly deviated wells (Humood et al.
2019). The physiological and rheological properties are more resistant to the changes when exposed to
elevated temperatures and pressures. Oil-Based Mud (OBM) are inert to salt and anhydrite contam­
ination. They also provide better cutting carrying capacity as compared to the conventional drilling
mud system. Compared to conventional vertical hole drilling, extended reach drilling wells with long
horizontal sections require higher driving torque. This is because of the increased drag on the drill
string, drill column, casing, and other equipment. This has led to higher friction and wear on the
drilling equipment. Friction and wear preventive properties of oil-based drilling fluid is therefore
important to keep oil extraction economical and sustainable. Many hydrocarbon producing nations
have strict environmental laws over the usage and disposal of oil-based mud (Almudhhi 2016).
To mitigate the problem caused by diesel oil-based mud, there is a need for eco-friendly drilling
mud. Scholars have been trying continuously to design OBM with better performance and minimum
environmental concern. Oseh et al. prepared the bio-diesel-based drilling mud using sweet almond
seed oil and showed that it has comparable rheological and filtration properties to that of conventional
OBM (Oseh et al. 2019). In another study about the drilling mud, Dardir et al. prepared a synthetic-
based drilling mud using ester amides, which was highly biodegradable, lesser toxic, and also
environment-friendly (Dardir et al. 2014). Said and El-Sayed prepared the oil-based mud for HPHT
well using fatty acid methyl ester as a base fluid, which was also biodegradable and concluded that
OBM displays better performance characteristics in HPHT conditions (Said and El-Sayed 2018).
Abdou et al. compared the performance of WBM having carbon nanotube with OBM and suggested
that there was a need to prepare a new WBM that could act like OBM but has a lesser harmful impact
on the environment (Abduo et al. 2016). It has been documented in the literature that the drilling fluid
can be designed as per the requirement of the field using natural oil as a substitute instead of
conventional diesel oil (Paswan et al. 2016).
A potential source of base oil is Jatropha Curcas, which is biodegradable owing to its natural origin.
It can reduce the environmental effects of the OBM while keeping all its advantages. Jatropha Curcas
has the added advantages of rapid growth, higher seed productivity, and is suitable for tropical and
subtropical regions of the world (Maroušek et al. 2013). They are highly biodegradable, have higher
flash and fire points, better thermal stability, and are less hazardous compared to diesel (Adesina et al.
2012). Oil extracted from Jatropha Curcas seeds shows a negligible detrimental impact on the fertility
of the soil. Also, the cost of Jatropha oil is approximately around 0.64 $/liter whereas diesel costs
around 1 $/liter (Fakharany, Khaled, and Mahmoud 2017) which shows its economic viability. Since
drilling is one of the costliest jobs which roughly costs around 60 MM$/well for an exploratory well
hence, minimizing cost is crucial (Amado 2013). Substituting conventional diesel oil with Jatropha oil
can be very cost effective (Vochozka et al. 2020). Previous study have reported the preparation of OBM
with vegetable oils to minimize the harmful impact of OBM on the environment (Sulaimon, Adeyemi,
and Rahimi 2017). Zang et al. have used sodium stearate to stabilize the emulsion-based mud in
presence of CaCO3 nanoparticle (Zhang et al. 2015). The present study identified and used sodium
stearate as a primary emulsifier for preparing jatropha oil-based emulsion mud.
The current study focuses on the characterization of Jatropha oil using Gas Chromatography-Mass
Spectrometry (GC-MS). The Jatropha oil-based invert emulsion OBM was prepared using
Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) as a viscosifier Chrome Lignosulfonate (CLS) as a fluid loss reducing
agent and Barite as a weighting material. Stability of the emulsion was checked for 24 h by conducting
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 3

an emulsion stability test. Additionally, effect of pH on emulsion stability was also understood, along
with the effects of organophilic clay, CMC, CLS, and barite on the rheological and filtration properties
of Jatropha oil-based mud. The shale dispersion test explored the suitability of Jatropha emulsion as
a shale stabilizer. The present studies compare the efficiency of Jatropha-based drilling mud with
conventional diesel-based mud, hence the diesel mud was also prepared and tested under same
conditions. The comparative study assesses the effectiveness of the rheological and filtration properties
of Jatropha mud over diesel oil-based mud.

Experimental
Materials
Jatropha, and Diesel oil used in the experiments were purchased from the local market. Sodium
Stearate of 98% purity was obtained from Central Drug House, India. N, N-Di Methyl Formamide
(DMF) of purity 99% was purchased from Fisher Scientific, US Carboxymethyl Cellulose of purity
99.9%. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, India provided the Chrome Ligno-Sulfonate of purity 99%.
Organophilic bentonite and barite were purchased from 20 Microns Limited, India. The experiments
used the Deionized water from the ELGA LAB water purifier with resistivity 18.2 MΩ.cm. All
materials were of analytical grade and were used without further purification.

Characterization of Jatropha oil and emulsion

Composition of Jatropha oil
JEOL GCMATE II Instrument from the USA analyzed the composition of Jatropha oil. The GC oven
temperature was programmed linearly (Hayat and Mendhulkar 2016). It was kept at 60°C for 5 min
and then the temperature was increased at a rate of 10°C per minute until it reached 150°C and kept
for 6 min. The temperature was further increased at 30°C per minute until it reached 270°C and
maintained for 15 min (Rodríguez et al. 2011). The GC-MS involves the separation of components of
the analyte and later using various detectors to identify different components present. The separation
of the component takes place based on the difference in the affinity of various components present in
the sample toward the stationary phase (Hayat and Mendhulkar 2016). This helps in the characteriza­
tion and comparison of the Jatropha oil with Diesel oil.

Electrical stability of the Jatropha emulsion

Electrical Stability Tester (EST), Model 23 E, Fann, U.S.A., was used to check the stability of the
emulsion. This equipment applies the continuous increasing voltage across the electrodes submerged
in the oil-water emulsion at the ambient temperature with an accuracy of ±2%. The emulsion stability
was tested at different temperatures by measuring the potential across the electrodes. This helped in
determining the upper limit of the temperature up to which the emulsion is stable.

pH-dependent stability of the emulsion

Multi-parameter, Model LMMP–30, Labman Scientific Instruments were used to measure the pH of
the emulsion. The pH of Jatropha oil and water emulsion was varied from 4 to 12 using HCl and
NaOH. An optical microscope (Motic Microscope, Hong Kong) with inbuilt image capture software
Motic Image Plus 2 was used to study the stability of the emulsion. The effect of pH on the stability of
emulsion was observed over 24 h and the potential across the parallel electrodes was measured.

Rheological and filtration properties of the Jatropha mud

A 40% water in Jatropha oil invert emulsion was formulated using sodium stearate (an anionic
surfactant) as a primary emulsifying agent and DMF as a secondary emulsifying agent. DMF being
4 H. KESARWANI ET AL.

a polar solvent was used to enhance the stability of the primary emulsifier/stability of the invert
emulsion by enhancing the solubility of primary surfactant. Hamilton Beach Mixer, USA was used for
preparing the mud under consideration. A six-speed rotational viscometer (Fann, USA) was used to
perform the rheological studies. Also, the studies were conducted to investigate the effect of viscosifier
(organophilic clay and CMC), weighing material (barite), and filter loss agent (CLS) on the rheology of
the mud. The fluid loss studies of the Jatropha-water OBM are performed using series 300 LPLT (Low-
Pressure Low Temperature) filter press by Fann, USA as per “API RP 13B-2” standards. The API filter
press experiments are conducted by applying a differential pressure of 100 psi across the mud cell at
ambient temperature conditions. The filtrate discharged from the mud chamber was collected from
the bottom. The test was conducted for over 30 min (API Standard Procedure) and reported as the
fluid loss.

Thermal stability of Jatropha mud

A dynamic aging test was performed to test the thermal stability of the Jatropha oil-based mud. The
mud was kept inside the sealed aging cell pressurized at 200 psi. The aging cell was kept inside the
roller oven for 16 h at 105°C. The rheological studies of the mud are performed after cooling it down to
the ambient temperature. The comparative study shows the extent of degradation in the rheology,
illustrating the thermal stability of the mud.

Shale dispersion test

The procedure for testing the dispersion of shale was the same as in the previous study (Beg et al.
2018). A fixed quantity of shale cuttings sieved from size 6 mesh was added to the prepared mud
sample. The mud sample was kept for the aging at 105°C and 200 psi for 16 h. After aging, the shale
cuttings were retrieved in a 10-mesh sieve and were compared with its original weight. The weight of
the shale cuttings retrieved after the aging of the mud helps in estimating the shale recovery. Eq. 1. Was
used to calculate the recovery of the shale in percentage after aging.

S0
Rð%Þ ¼ � 100 (1)
S

where R is the shale recovery achieved after aging. S’ is the weight in grams of the shale cuttings
recovered, and S is the weight in grams of the shale cutting added to the emulsions at the starting. The
test was performed using water, Jatropha oil-based mud, and diesel-based mud.

Results and discussion

Properties of Jatropha oil
Table 1 depicts the physical properties of both oils. Figure 1 illustrates the effect of temperature of the
system on the viscosity and density. The viscosity and density of the oil were found to be decreasing
with an increase in temperature. Figure 2 illustrates the comparison of the GC-MS test results with the
retention times of the standard solution mixtures. Twelve different peaks identified in the GC test
corresponds to 12 different compounds (Table 2) separated at a specific retention time (Figure 2).
Tetracosanoic acid, 3-oxo, methyl ester is having the highest carbon number (C24) which is present in
the Jatropha Oil while Nonanoic acid, 1-methyl ethyl ester (C12) is having the lowest carbon number.
The carbon number range of Jatropha Oil is comparable to the range of carbon numbers of standard
diesel oil. This validates the use of Jatropha Oil as a substitute for the diesel oil-based mud.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 5

Table 1. Various properties of Jatropha and diesel oil.

SN. Property Jatropha Oil Diesel Oil
1 Density (g/mL) 0.8942 0.8239
2 Viscosity (cp) 50.35 4.59
3 Cloud Point (ºC) 7 −11
4 Pour Point (ºC) 4 −20
5 Flash point (ºC) 266 65
6 Fire Point (ºC) 276 69

Figure 1. Effect of temperature on; (a) viscosity of Jatropha oil; (b) density of Jatropha oil.

Figure 2. GC test results of Jatropha oil.

Electrical stability/emulsion stability of Jatropha oil emulsion

The stability of the emulsion is one of the most crucial properties of the oil-based drilling mud; hence,
it becomes of utmost importance to investigate the stability of the emulsion thus formed for the
preparation of the oil-based drilling mud. An emulsion was prepared using 40% water and 60%
Jatropha oil. A 0.5 wt% and 0.625 v% of primary and secondary emulsifiers were added to the system,
respectively. The plot of potential difference across the probe vs. time (72 h) has been used to study the
6 H. KESARWANI ET AL.

Table 2. Different compounds present in Jatropha oil using GC-MS.

BP Chemical
S. No Compound Name RT (ºC) Formula Chemical Structure
1 Nonanoic acid, 1-methylethyl ester 16.12 276.66 C12H24O2
2 Tetradecanoic Acid 18.1 250.05 C14H28O2
3 Pentadecanoic acid, 14-methyl-, methyl ester 19.53 391.06 C17H34O2

4 n-Hexadecanoic acid 20.42 163.55 C17H34O2

5 10-Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester 21.52 441.42 C19H36O2
6 Oleic Acid 22.4 194.55 C18H34O2

7 Octadecanoic acid 22.87 358 C18H36O2

8 Z,E-2-Methyl-3, 13-octadecadien-1-ol 26.27 380.7 C19H36O

9 3,6-Diethylidene-12-methyl-1,2,3,4,6,7,12,12b-octahydroindolo 28.1 85.9 C20H24N2
[2,3-a]quinolizine

10 2,5-Octadecadienoic acid, methyl ester 29.28 182.05 C19H34O2

11 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z), 2-butoxyethyl ester 33.55 464.3 C24H46O3

12 Tetracosanoic acid, 3-oxo, methyl ester 36.1 272.05 C24H48O2

Figure 3. Emulsion stability of Jatropha oil and water emulsion with time.

stability of the emulsion. The emulsion formed was stable for 24 h. A sudden increase in the voltage
across the probe after 24 h illustrates the onset of phase separation in the emulsion. The onset of
voltage fluctuation is low at the beginning of phase separation. This low variation at the beginning is
because of the presence of the oil, a dominant non-conductive phase. With passaging time, the
variation in voltage increased. This variation illustrates the dissociation of the emulsion. Figure 3
illustrates that as the voltage variation increase the phase separation increase with time. The rise in the
voltage across the electrode could be attributed to the electrical bridge formed in the emulsion, as
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 7

a result of which the electron movement was easier (Ali, Schmidt, and Harvey 1987). With time the
emulsion would have settled resulting in phase separation. This could also give rise to the increase in
the electrode potential. Similar study on the electrical stability of the emulsion were performed
previously (Growcock et al. 1994). They have investigated the effect of the concentrations of additives
on the electrical stability of the oil-based mud.

pH-dependent stability of the Jatropha emulsion

pH is among the most critical parameters that control the stability of the emulsion. Previous
researchers have shown that the pH of the system affects the average droplet size of the emulsion.
Nallamilli and Basavaraj have reported that the size of the average droplets decreases with an increase
in the pH (Nallamilli and Basavaraj 2017) whereas, Juttulapa et al. have reported the increase in the
average droplet diameter when increasing the pH from 4 to 7 (Juttulapa, Piriyaprasarth, and
Sriamornsak 2013), Binks et al. have also suggested the increase in average emulsion droplets when
increasing pH from 4 to 7.5 (Binks et al. 2006). In this study, the increasing pH led to an increase in the
average droplet size of the emulsion which is evident from Figure 4. An increase in the pH of the
system from 4 to 7.5, led the net electrostatic charge present on the system to reduce. The pH effect on
emulsion stability is by the ionization of polar groups of surface-active agents (Onsaard et al. 2005).
The ionization increases the repulsive forces leading to the breakage of interfacial film cohesion. This
reduction in the net charge of the system leads to an aggregation of the oil droplets giving rise to
increased droplet size (Daaou and Bendedouch 2012). The optical images in Figure 4 confirm the

Figure 4. Micrograph of emulsion with varying pH and time.

8 H. KESARWANI ET AL.

same. The optical images of the emulsion with variation in the pH suggests a more stable as the pH of
the emulsion increases from 7.5 (originally) to 8.5 (Figure 4). The micrograph images show that the
emulsion is stable over the wide range of pH, but its stability was up to 1 h only. As the pH of the
emulsion approaches 8.5, the stability of the emulsion increased up to 24 h. However, the basic
environment enhances the adsorption and stability of the ionic surface-active agent giving higher
stability at 8.5 pH.

Effect of additives on the rheological properties

The drilling mud is a complex mixture of several additives which are mixed for the specific purpose.
Each additive is added to boost certain property of the drilling mud. To better understand the effect of
these additives on the rheological properties of the drilling mud, their concentration in the mud was
varied. Figure 5 illustrates the effect of different concentrations of additives on the rheology of
Jatropha-based emulsion. The increase in additives concentration resulted in an enhanced plastic
viscosity of the system. The increased viscosity results from the increased solid content of the system.
The increased solid contents increase inter-particle friction exhibiting a higher viscosity (Hammadi,
Boudjenane, and Belhadri 2014). The higher YP magnitude suggested that the emulsion possesses
a higher cutting carrying capacity at dynamic conditions (Abdou and El-Sayed Ahmed 2011).
Whereas, it would require higher pump pressure to pump the fluid down the wellbore. The increase
in CMC concentration affects the thixotropic property of the mud, such as the YP and gel strength.
Enhanced thixotropic properties result from cellulose adsorption on the surface of clay particles. This
adsorption increases electrostatic attraction leading to flocculation, which results in increased viscos­
ity. A similar trend in the rheological parameters was found in the previous study (Paswan et al. 2016).
An increase in barite concentration in the emulsion further enhances the rheology of the system. No
barite sag was observed until 80 g of barite was added to the system. The experimental studies were
performed on drilling mud having two different concentrations of CLS, i.e., 0.35 to 0.5 wt/v%. The
rheological parameter decreased as the CLS concentration increased from 0.35 to 0.50 wt% (Figure 5
(e)). However, the API fluid loss is observed to drop from 13 to 3.4 mL (Figure 5(f)). The reduced API
fluid loss illustrates the excellent performance of CLS as a fluid loss reducing agent in an invert
emulsion oil-based mud. These results are in line with the previous study (Fakharany, Khaled, and
Mahmoud 2017). Further, the increased concentration resulted in a reduction in cake thickness from
0.793 mm to 1.587 mm (2/32 to 1/32 inches). The reduction in the viscosity is due to the de-
flocculating properties of the CLS. The reduction in the fluid loss as well as the formation of thin
impermeable filter cake suggested that there would be lesser chances of formation damage while
drilling with Jatropha mud. Also, it would efficiently encounter the water-sensitive shale formation
without losing mud in the formation. The formation of an impermeable thin filter cake on the wall of
the wellbore would also restrict the movement of drilling fluid into the formation. Hence, it would not
contaminate the formation fluid.

Thermal stability of the Jatropha oil-based mud

The mud circulated in the reservoir is under the harsh temperature conditions, hence it becomes
essential to investigate the effect of the temperature on the properties of the drilling fluid. The thermal
stability of the mud was studied as per the API RP 13B-1 standard procedures (Beg, Kesarwani, and
Sharma 2019). After the hot rolling of the mud, the rheological studies were again conducted. Figure 6
(a) illustrates the rheological studies after the hot rolling of the mud (Figure 6(a)). The viscosity, YP,
and gel strength values settled approximately 75% of before aging values. The rheology was measured
at four temperatures; 30°C, 50°C, 70°C, and 90°C before hot rolling and after hot rolling. This was
done to measure the degradation in rheological properties after hot rolling/aging at 105°C. The
reduction in the rheology (value of shear stress for the same shear rate), when the temperature was
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 9

Figure 5. Effect on the properties of Jatropha emulsion with respect to the concentration of, (a) oil; (b) clay; (c) viscosifier; (d) barite;
(e) fluid loss reducer; (f) fluid loss reducer.

varied from 30°C to 90°C after aging at the rheology measurement, was found to be 7%. This low value
ensures that mud remains stable even after aging at 105°C.
The AV values degraded 12% before hot rolling, whereas the same was 10% after hot rolling. This
degradation in AV could be attributed to the breaking of the complex viscosifier (polymer) into
smaller chains. The chains thus formed have lesser molecular weight as compared to the polymers.
These broken chains are less effective in keeping the viscosity constant; thus, the viscosity decreases
10 H. KESARWANI ET AL.

Figure 6. Rheology of Jatropha mud; (a) Aging effect: At various temperature before(B) and after hot rolling (A); (b) Comparison of
viscosity parameters (AV, PV &YP) with diesel mud.

with temperature. Greater thermal stability of the Jatropha mud suggested that it would be able to
withstand at reservoir temperature and provide better performance in lifting the drilled cutting out of
borehole. Similar trend of the rheology was also reported in the previous study (Perween et al. 2018).

Comparison between Jatropha emulsion mud and diesel emulsion mud

Table 3 gives the composition of both drilling fluids. The results showed that the AV and PV values of
Jatropha mud were 46 cP and 30 cP, respectively. Whereas the same for diesel mud were 26 cP and 18
cP, respectively. These results are in line with a previous study where the AV and PV of diesel mud was
reported to be 21cp and 16cp, respectively (Kumar et al. 2020). Slight difference in the viscosity value
could be due to the difference in the composition of the mud as well the difference in the composition
of the diesel oil. After hot rolling, the AV values of Jatropha persisted at 74% of its initial value,
whereas AV for diesel mud degraded to 42% of its initial value (Figure 6(b)). This observation showed
that the Jatropha mud has better rheological performance and greater thermal stability as compared to
conventional diesel oil-based mud. Table 4 provides extensive detail of the parameters studied.
Jatropha-based mud resulted in an API fluid loss of 3.4 mL, whereas the diesel-based mud results in
an API fluid loss of 25.6 mL for the same conditions. These results are in line with the previous
findings where the fluid loss for diesel loss was obtained 27 mL (Agwu, Okon, and Udoh 2015). The
improvement in properties of the Jatropha oil mud as compared to that of the diesel mud makes it an
excellent replacement.

Table 3. Composition of Jatropha and diesel mud.

Jatropha Mud Diesel Mud
SN. Composition Quantity Mixing time Quantity Mixing time
1 Water 160 mL - 160 mL -
2 Primary surfactant 0.5 wt/v % 6 min @70°C 2.5 wt/v % 6 min @70°C
3 Octanol 0.01 v/v % 02 min 0.1 v/v % 02 min
4 Oil 240 mL 05 min 240 mL 07 min
5 Secondary surfactant 0.625 v/v % 07 min - -
6 Organophilic clay 0.5 wt/v % 10 min 0.5 wt/v % 10 min
7 Viscosifier 0.3 wt/v % 08 min 0.3 wt/v % 08 min
8 Fluid Loss Reducer 0.5 wt/v % 10 min 0.5 wt/v % 09 min
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 11

Table 4. Properties of Jatropha and diesel mud both before and after hot rolling for 16 h at 100°C.
Jatropha Mud Diesel Mud
S.No. Rheological Property Before Hot Rolling After Hot Rolling Before Hot Rolling After Hot Rolling
1 Apparent Viscosity (cp) 96 60.5 74 14
2 Plastic Viscosity (cp) 61 33 48 11
3 Yield Point (Pa) 34 26 25 3
4 Gel Strength @10 sec (Pa) 14 8 7 3
5 Gel Strength @10 min (Pa) 17 9 10 4

Shale dispersion test in the emulsion-based mud system

The application of OBM in water-sensitive formation could be beneficial but these formations contains
clay such as illite and smectite that could lead to the swelling on encountering water. The interlayer
spacing of the clay allows the water molecules to move between them (Akpan et al. 2019). The shale
particles after swelling get disintegrated into smaller particles while drilling and might cause hole
instability problems. The shale recovery in the developed Jatropha and Diesel emulsion with composi­
tions, as mentioned in Table 3, is 96.65% & 94.75%, respectively. Jatropha mud illustrated a higher shale
recovery, which is because of the formation of a more stable, impermeable layer on the shale particle
surface as compared to that of diesel emulsion-based mud system (Paswan et al. 2016). Shale recovery in
case of the base fluid as the water is about 93.5%. A similar trend in the shale recovery was obtained in the
previous study where the recovery was obtained 84.4% and 82.6% with Jatropha and Diesel emulsion,
respectively (Paswan et al. 2016). The slight difference in the recovery percentage of the shale could be
due to the difference in the composition of the shale and Jatropha oil used for experiment. The results
show that the emulsion-based drilling fluids are stabilizing the shale. Whereas with water, the shale
particles disintegrate and result in lower recovery of shale cutting.

Conclusion
The net electrostatic charge governs the stability of the emulsion, which is pH controlled. The
highest stability of the Jatropha was found at 8.5pH. The Jatropha oil invert emulsion mud is
thermally stable as compared to that of diesel mud with the same composition. The Jatropha mud
has better rheological and cutting carrying capabilities as compared to that of the diesel mud.
Jatropha mud showed lesser thermal degradation in AV values as compared to that of Diesel mud.
Thermal degradation in the AV values was found to be 26% and 58% for Jatropha and Diesel mud,
respectively. Jatropha mud also showed the better filtration properties with 3.4 mL fluid loss and
0.793 mm thickness of mud cake for LPLT filter press. Jatropha oil is biodegradable and is less
toxic as well as cost effective as reported in an earlier study, which gives it an edge over diesel oil.
More study needs to be performed on Jatropha emulsion before its application in the actual field.
One of the applications could be use of Jatropha as a base fluid and not as an emulsion in drilling
mud. This type of mud can be used in water-sensitive formations such as Shales. Another potential
field of study for the future research could be the addition of nanoparticles in the Jatropha mud.
The addition of nanoparticles will further improve the performance of the drilling mud both in
rheological and filtration studies.

Article highlights
(1) Use of eco-friendly Jatropha oil-based mud and its comparison to Diesel Mud
(2) Enhanced rheological and filtration properties as compared to Diesel Mud
(3) Jatropha-Based drilling mud illustrated improved thermal stability as compared to that of the Diesel-based mud.
(4) Higher shale recovery as compared to diesel oil mud.
12 H. KESARWANI ET AL.

Funding
This work was supported by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais.

Notes on contributors
Mr. Himanshu Kesarwani has completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Petroleum Engineering major in upstream.
Currently, he is involved in designing of novel drilling fluid and performing research on chemical-based Enhanced oil
recovery processes. The author has extensively worked on the synthesis of novel surfactant. The prime focus of the
author is to improve the performance of the surfactant polymer flooding.
Dr. Amit Saxena is working as a faculty involved in Teaching/Research in the Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais, India. He holds a Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering from IIT
Dhanbad, India. His research interest includes Drilling Fluids, EOR and Numerical modelling and simulation of
different flow processes involved in Petroleum Engineering (In-situ and Surface). His is a recipient of prestigious Indian
National Science Academy fellowship for the academic year of 2018–19.
Dr. Shivanjali Sharma is working as an Assistant Professor involved in Academic, Research and Industrial consultation
in the Department of Petroleum Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais, India. She holds a
Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering from IIT Dhanbad, India. Her research interest includes the Design of Drilling
Fluids for HPHT wells, Shale swelling etc. She holds two patents for developing flow improvers. She has successfully
completed a major project on “Development of Polyionic Liquid Based Silicate Muds for Wellbore Stability in Shale
Reservoirs”. She is actively involved in the development of novel drilling fluids for different applications and study of
different EOR processes. She is proficient in developing novel surfactants and polymers from different sources and check
their field applications. she is a reviewer of numerous peer-reviewed journals. She actively provides consultation to
different industries for field-specific problems.

ORCID
Shivanjali Sharma http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6212-8267

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